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SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) — The National Police Agency (NPA) on Friday alerted North Korean defectors to the dangers of financial pyramid scams touting investment in Chinese real estate.

The alert was issued after several tens of defectors from the North fell for the fraud after being lured to invest large sums of money in China’s property development projects for huge, quick profits, the NPA said.

In a typical case, the defectors were told to invest 30 million won (US$25,570) in Chinese real estate and receive 3 million won in dividends after a month. They were also asked to recruit new investors for additional allowance payments, said the NPA.

The agency noted that the defectors failing to attract at least 10 new investors were forced to forfeit their initial investments.

The South Korean government provides each defector with a subsidy of 6 million won in cash in an effort to help them better assimilate, while they can also receive up to 13 million won to finance their housing.

The scammers mobilized various methods to deceive the defector investors, including on-the-spot tours and the introduction of fake success stories, and refused to draw up contract papers, citing China’s domestic laws regulating foreign property investments.

The NPA said it has sent warning text messages to North Korean defectors here and will continue to educate them about various financial scams.